Memo to NCAA: Leave Friday night football to the high schools

Powerhouse matchups Arlington Martin vs. Dallas Skyline, Cedar Hill vs. Allen, Southlake Carroll vs. Broken Arrow, Okla., and Aledo vs. Colleyville Heritage will highlight the Sept. 1 opening Friday for area high school football.

Meanwhile, college football continues to encroach on the traditional night for high school football, and the national high school federation is taking a stand.

In an effort to re-emphasize that Friday nights in the fall should be reserved for high school football, the National Federation of State High School Associations has adopted a resolution urging college and pro teams to honor that longstanding tradition by scheduling their games on other days.

Fox Sports Southwest will televise two UIL football games live on Sept. 1. The UIL is allowing the one-time exception to a longstanding rule prohibiting live telecasts of Friday night games.

The games to be aired are Class 3A Shallowater at Idalou at 6 p.m., and 6A Austin Lake Travis at Converse Judson at 8:30 p.m.

The NFHS, composed of state high school associations in the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, has adopted the following resolution:

“Be it RESOLVED that every Friday night during the fall in America is ‘High School Football Night.

“Be it FURTHER RESOLVED that college and professional football teams should refrain from scheduling contests on Friday nights. Such restraint would be an investment in their own future success. It would also demonstrate that high school football has value well beyond the field of play. Schools, communities and scholastic teams for girls and boys all benefit when football is strong.

“THEREFORE, the National Federation of State High School Associations urges all parties to observe the central premise of this resolution.”

Although some major college football games have been played on Friday nights for about 20 years, the numbers continue to increase.

This year, more than 50 major college football games will be played on Friday nights, including eight on Sept. 1 — the Friday night before Labor Day weekend. Most recently, the Big Ten Conference joined a growing number of NCAA conferences that have scheduled a handful of games on Friday nights.

“The value of tradition cannot be understated,” said Bob Gardner, NFHS executive director. “Friday nights offer communities a traditional time and place to congregate and support their students. If a major college football game was scheduled in the area on a Friday night, it could affect attendance at the high school game or cause the game to be moved to another day. In addition, many of the Friday night college games are televised, which could result in lower attendance at high school contests nationwide.

“We believe retaining Friday nights for high school contests is a plus for colleges as well as they reap the benefits of healthy programs at the high school level.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Memo to NCAA: Leave Friday night football to the high schools."